Factors Influencing Specialty Choices Among Medical Students in a University Teaching Hospital in Southern Nigeria

The dearth of medical specialists in different fields of medicine and their mal-distribution is a common occurrence in Nigeria. Understanding the specialty areas preferred by medical students and the factors influencing their choices is important in addressing this problem. This study set out to determine the various medical specialities preference of medical students and the factors that influenced their choices. Adescriptive cross sectional study using pre-tested structured questionnaires was carried out among 186 clinical students recruited by total sampling technique from the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences of the University of Uyo, Nigeria. Data was analysed using SPSS version 17.0 statistical software. One hundred and seventy five (94.1%) agreed to specialize on graduation. The main specialties of interest were Obstetrics and Gynaecology 39(22.3%), General Surgery 23(13.1%), Internal Medicine 20(11.4%) and Cardiothoracic Surgery 16(9.1%). There was a low preference for Physiology 1(0.6%) and Anatomy 0(0.0%) in the Basic Medical Sciences. Specialty choices was commonly influenced by personal interest 144(83.7%), personal skills 118(68.6%) and intellectual content of the specialty 118(68.6%). There was no sex difference in the choice of 2 specialty areas. Financial benefit significantly influenced males’ specialty choices. (χ²=4.288, p=0.038). The specialty choices of medical students were strongly in favour of the core clinical areas of medicine over other disciplines and the common determinants of their choices were personal interest, personal skills and intellectual content of the specialty